
2025 Featured Artist: Suyao Tian
Suyao Tian is a professional artist based in the Twin Cities, MN. She currently serves as adjunct faculty at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, teaching Water-Based Media studio classes. She is the founder and owner of Viewpoint Gallery, an Executive Board member of Art Buddies, and a board member of the Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association (NEMAA).
She earned her BA from the University of Central Arkansas and her MFA from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. In her professional artistic career, she works as an independent curator and water-based media abstract painter. She is represented by Claire Oliver Gallery in NYC. Her paintings have been featured in numerous group and solo exhibitions both nationally and internationally. Her paintings have been permanently collected by museums, institutions, and renowned collectors, such as the North Dakota Museum of Art, the University of Minnesota, and more.
In the commercial art arena, she has worked with prestigious companies such as Target, Room & Board, MSP International Airport, and BOND International Design Agency, among others.
Suyao’s work will be on display at the Austin ArtWorks Center, 2nd floor gallery, during the ArtWorks Festival. Be sure to check out her tent out on Festival grounds where she will be demonstrating her painting style and answering questions about her creative process.
© Suyao Tian
© Suyao Tian
Website: suyaotian.com
The 2025 Featured Artist is funded by the Hormel Foods Corporation.
Previous Featured Artists
Ta-coumba T. Aiken, 2024 Featured Artist
Heather Friedli, 2023 Featured Artist
Victor Yepez, 2022 Featured Artist — See more info about the community mural that was created HERE!
Leslie Barlow, 2021 Featured Artist
Rory Wakemup, 2019 Featured Artist
Michael Sweere, 2018 Featured Artist
Tom Hormel, 2017 Featured Artist
Mary Plaster, 2016 Featured Artist
Paula Elliot, 2015 Featured Artist
Zane York, Joe Sand, Angie Pipkorn & Joan Finnegan, 2014 Featured Artists
Phyllis Yes, 2013 Featured Artist
Eric Anfinson, 2012 Featured Artist